Films that Should Never Be Remade – From ‘The Goonies’ and ‘Die Hard’ to ‘Deer Hunter’ and ‘Shawshank’

Films that Should Never Be Remade - From 'The Goonies' and 'Die Hard' to 'Deer Hunter' and 'Shawshank'

You'd think the great auteurs would be safe from remakes — it's hard to imagine someone taking on a Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, Terrence Malick or David Lynch film, for example. But that hasn't stopped Hollywood from remaking everything from "The Haunting" to "Psycho." Studio heads figure the lazy new generation doesn't know the classics. And marketers want to cash in on easy-sell branded titles and fan followings — it's the way it works. But more often than not, when less-than-great movies get remade into even less great "reboots" like 2012's "Total Recall," they flop with audiences anyway. And when the great ones get remade, like Federico Fellini's "8½," even canny movie stars like Daniel Day-Lewis and Marion Cotillard can't save them.

While we don't want any movies to be remade, here are eight films to begin our official Please Do Not Even Try list.

This devastating, viscerally disturbing film was a profound expression of the Vietnam era. Recreating its effect be impossible — despite still relevant themes — and compiling a cast of such high caliber would also be a challenge (of course they were less established then): Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Savage, John Cazale…where would you start to replace them? The film won five Oscars: Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actor, Sound and Editing. A year later, Francis Ford Coppola's equally provocative Vietnam film "Apocalypse Now" — which should also never be remade — won two.

"The Goonies" (1985), Dir. Richard Donner, Wr. Steven Spielberg

The 80s are long behind us, as are the halcyon days of imagination and boredom. Thanks, technology. Recapturing this Steven Spielberg classic in our modern era is impossible, so those who would dare to try would end up embarrassed and nostalgic at best. On the other hand, J.J. Abrams did a pretty good job with "Super 8."

It's quite possible that Bruce Willis has no intention of ending his days as John McClane. We're safe for now. But sooner or later someone is going to think "reboot" and a replacement will be sought to take over the yippee ki-yay mother-fucking franchise. A wise idea? No. But even Paul Thomas Anderson would've liked a shot at directing the original.

"Thelma & Louise" (1991), Dir. Ridley Scott, Wr. Callie Khouri

It's hard to imagine this film without Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis, Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen, Christopher McDonald and Brad Pitt or director Ridley Scott. It could have come together entirely differently back in development stages, and thank god it didn't. (Producer Scott realized that all the directors wanted to "soften" the inherent feminism of the piece. So he decided to do it himself.) To have this movie any other way, set in any other era, with different music and landscapes, would be a cinematic abomination. (On the other hand, you'd think we'd have come farther than we have. Its theme, shockingly, is still relevant.) (Khouri, David and producer Mimi Polk Gitlin celebrated the film's 20th anniversary at the Academy.)

Who would be naive enough to try and top Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lecter? Jodie Foster's Clarice Starling should also be considered sacred territory. This is the only horror/thriller to ever win the Oscar for Best Picture (it also won Best Actor, Actress, Director, Screenplay), and it's easy to see why. It's also easy to see the ways in which it could be taken over the top, exaggerated and pushed to the point of parody. (Ridley Scott himself did it in the "Hannibal" sequel.) No one can touch this film. Television is going to try; Mads Mikkselsen is starring as a younger Lecter in an upcoming 13-episode NBC series.

It's no surprise that Stephen King's novels make for excellent films ("The Shining," "The Green Mile," "Dolores Claiborne"), and as some of them are already being redone ("Carrie," "Pet Sematary"), it would be nice to keep at least one safe from consideration. Let it be "Shawshank"; there will never be a better pair than Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman as Andy and Red. Darabont's direction is perfection, and the film holds up swimmingly nearly twenty years on.

A cult classic mystery with a stellar cast, including Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, Benicio Del Toro and Stephen Baldwin. To pull off this convoluted story as cleverly as Singer did is no easy feat, and to attempt re-engaging an audience –old or new–with the same story would be an invitation for endless comparisons, if not disaster. The original holds up, and if people haven't already seen this movie, they should go in knowing as little as possible.

"Fight Club" (1999), Dir. David Fincher, Wr. Chuck Palahniuk

It may have been considered a commercial failure when it debuted, but this film, one of Fincher's finest, has become one of the most beloved cult films of all time. Cinematically and conceptually, "Fight Club" was ahead of its time and to try to reassign its scathing social commentary to 2013 or beyond just wouldn't have the same jolting effect. We're too jaded now. And making this movie without Brad Pitt and Edward Norton? Please.

Comments

Films, good or bad, are like plays. Have you ever heard of Shakespeare or Ibsen not being remade? Stories have been retold since the dawn of time, but today, more than ever before, with films we have a technological conundrum. Have you ever tried to show a 12 year old the classics? They just won't get past the black and white, or the slow set up, or the bad "effects". Great stories should be preserved in eternity EXACTLY by being remade, no matter how many times, by future generations. The only reason why we even KNOW a lot of great stories and myths, is that they were endlessly retold by people. Whoever compiled this list thinks that everyone is a film buff or a die-hard cinephile, when clearly 99,9% of the public is not. They'll never see the movies on this list. They'll keep seeing bad movies, if we don't remake the good ones.

I for one would welcome remakes of DIE HARD and THELMA AND LOUISE if there was a whole new approach to the subjects. I think both stories can be told in different ways, DIE HARD just as effectively as the original, THELMA AND LOUISE more effectively (i.e. more realistic and not such a delusional feminist fantasy and with a more believable ending where they get caught and take their lumps, like 99% of criminals).

Which they will. Someone doing a new version of "Thelma and Louise" or "The Silence of the Lambs" does nothing to destory the original, which is why a "never remake" list is such a silly and snobby exercise to begin with.

no great movie should ever be remade.only movies that had the potential (like good story,idea,characters…) but something went wrong (wrong director,casting,timing…) should be remade. great works should stay intact, especially the movies made from the original script.